2.0 Sweden’s implementation of UNSCR 1325 during 2015
WOMEN COUNT 2.0 PUBLISHED BY OPERATION 1325 STOCKHOLM 2016 Author intern Hannah Öhlén with assistance and supervision of Operation 1325 staff, team and supporters worldwide, acknowledging the original Women Count project led by Global Network of Women Peace-builders (GNWP). WWW.OPERATION1325.SE
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2.0 CONTENT INTRODUCTION 3 Important events during 2015 3
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 1325 BY AUTHORITIES 5 OBJECTIVE 1A: A significantly higher percentage of women participating in
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international peace and security efforts, within the framework of regional and international organizations. OBJECTIVE 1B: Peace and security-building operations should be conducted
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with a gender perspective in order to increase their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE 2: The protection of women and girls in conflict is strengthened by and
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based on analysis in which women participate actively. OBJECTIVE 3: Women in conflict areas are to participate fully and on equal
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terms with men at all levels in mechanisms and institutions for conflict prevention, crisis management, peace-building, humanitarian and other operations during a conflict phase. OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS
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RECOMMENDATIONS 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FOOTNOTES 15
INTRODUCTION
The UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was adopted in 2000 and is binding on all UN member states. Despite this, a lot of work still needs to be done before it can be said that the resolution has been implemented around the world. Women are still underrepresented in governments and peace negotiations, still exposed to sexual violence in conflict situations, and the security of girls and women is still regarded as a women’s issue rather than a security issue. In October 2015, 15 years after adoption of the resolution, a global study was conducted by UN Women on the initiative of Ban Ki-Moon to identify the challenges and priority issues in implementing resolution 1325. As a UN member state Sweden has a great responsibility when it comes to resolution 1325, perhaps now more than ever with the adoption of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy. It is therefore of great importance to monitor and highlight the work of the Swedish government on the implementation of 1325 and its sister resolutions. Operation 1325 has produced the monitoring report Women Count since 20111. It is important to remember that the national action plan for 2015 has been updated to a new, enhanced version. Since the present report covers the year 2015 it is based on the previous national action plan. In this year’s report we use the goals formulated in the Swedish National Action Plan; responsible governmental agencies also report in line with these goals. The goals are primarily concerned with Swedish foreign, security and development policies, but in this report we chose to use a wider approach. Since media is a powerful player in our society, women’s representation in media is fundamentally important and as such we chose to include this aspect. We also decided to highlight trade and education as two important areas when it comes to prevention. Education is important since knowledge about the resolution is fundamental in order to arrive at a change for the better. Trade and economy are powerful factors in our globalised world, and how Sweden chooses to trade with other countries has an effect on human security and people’s power over their own lives.
IMPORTANT EVENTS DURING 2015 Much happened on the 1325 agenda during 2015, with some political changes affecting the agenda more than others. These developments are reviewed in the first section of the report. Thereafter we report on and review the authorities’ efforts in implementing 1325 based on Sweden’s national action plan. In 2015, an important part of the Foreign Ministry’s work was the development of a new national action plan for the implementation of 1325. The new action plan launched in May 2016 is more concrete and shows a clearer division of responsibilities than the previous one. That plan was criticized for being vague and not providing a clear tool for those working with 1325, which made both implementation and measurement of results difficult. Unlike the process of developing and extending the previous plan, the process of developing the new plan has included consultation with civil society organizations in Sweden
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and partner countries. This is in accordance with our recommendations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) emphasizes that inclusion of expert civil society reference groups ensures a higher quality action plan and grants more actors ownership. The Ministry also views the consultation of women’s organizations in the recipient countries as one of the most important advances made during 2015. In 2015, the world celebrated 15 years of resolution 1325. Accordingly, the Ministry directed all Swedish embassies to carry out activities related to the resolution in order to emphasise the importance of its implementation. A problem identified in this and previous reports is the Ministry’s lack of transparency and reporting on its 1325 work. The authorities in Sweden reflect on their work in an indicator report, but the Foreign Ministry has no duty to report in the same way. This is a problem as the Ministry is largely responsible for the implementation of Swedish foreign policy as well as diplomacy, and conflict-resolution and peacekeeping operations form a major part of Sweden’s efforts to implement resolution 1325. The new action plan in 2015 proposes that the foreign missions in focus countries report their work on 1325 to the Foreign Ministry, which in turn will submit a comprehensive report. Thus the way of reporting will change with the new plan, and there are many indications that this change will be positive in terms of transparency and accountability. In 2015, Sweden acquired its first ambassador for gender equality; the same person also coordinates the feminist foreign policy. During the year, the feminist foreign policy started to become an integrated part of the authorities’ work. Due to government prioritization, gender issues have been lifted to higher levels within these organizations. This change has eased the implementation of resolution 1325 at SIDA, FBA and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. For example, SIDA has said that although the Agency has worked on gender mainstreaming for a long time, it is now clear that these issues are a priority and the responsibility of managers, who have integrated the issues into general work. In early 2015, the Minister for Development Cooperation Isabella Lövin was appointed one of the Chairpersons of the International Dialogue on Peace- building and State-building (IDPS). IDPS is a forum for political dialogue with fragile and conflict-affected states, international donors and civil society and aims to contribute to more successful peace-building processes. Through this work Lövin has advanced the 1325 agenda and the importance of women’s participation in many contexts, and said that as chairperson she will highlight the crucial role of women in building sustainable peace through all of society. The chairpersonship is symbolically important for Sweden’s 1325 work in making the resolution a priority in the world. Isabella Lövin has thus given new weight to the resolution at a high political level.
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THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 1325 BY AUTHORITIES This section of the report summarizes the work done by the authorities in implementing the resolution. According to Sweden’s national action plan, the governmental agencies primarily responsible for the implementation of resolution 1325 are: The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), The Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), The Swedish Armed Forces, The Swedish Police and The Swedish Prison and Probation Service. These authorities report on their work annually in an indicator report titled ‘The Swedish Authorities’ Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325’. Several of the authorities provide financial support to civil society organizations that carry out projects focused on women, peace and security. This evaluation is also based on interviews with the responsible persons at the respective authorities. The interviews have highlighted implementation areas needing further reflection as well as questioning the format of the reporting, indicating what is good and what can be improved in the work towards the goals set in the national action plan relating to 2015.
OBJECTIVE 1A: A considerably larger proportion of women to participate in international peace-support and security-building operations, within the framework of regional and international organisations. Participation of women in peace and security operations and in peace processes is a fundamental part of creating a sustainable peace. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency has found that a low percentage of women in an international mission results in the needs of the receiving women and girls not being satisfied in the same way as the needs of the receiving boys and men. Women’s participation is therefore a tool to improve efficiency, but the participation of women is also an objective in itself. In the long term, exclusive focus on efficiency can lead to the risk of declining gender equality; participation of women and higher levels of efficiency must be connected. It is therefore relevant to emphasize both the results of peace-making and the representation of women in peace-making as important. Thus the question of representation needs to be addressed as a question of human rights. The goal of “a significantly larger proportion of women involved,” can realize this, even if the goal is vague and needs to be concretized. All of the authorities are assigned to send personnel to various international missions and they work actively with issues surrounding women’s participation and representation. Two of the indicators used in the authorities’ indicator report deal with the number of women recruited to international peace and security efforts, as well as to general and higher services. Half of the authorities reported that more women were recruited in 2015 than in 2014, while two authorities reported that the number of women recruited remained at about the same level as in 2014, with a slight decrease in the proportion of women posted. Two agencies reported that in 2015 they sent virtually the same number of women as men, an increase from only one authority in 2014.2 The Folke Bernadotte Academy has seen an increase in opportunities for female candidates to be re-
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AMOUNT OF POSTED FEMALE STAFF
Women in percentage
80 70
MSB
60
FBA
50
Defence forces
40
SPPS*
30 20
SIDA
10
The Police
0 2012
2012
2013
2013
2014
2014
2015
2015
2016
* Swedish Prison and Probation Service
cruited to operations through the authority. This so-called ‘increase trend’ has developed over the past three years; at the same time, the Academy states that it will continue to try to reach out to more potential female candidates. Nonetheless, the FBA also notes the stereotypes within the work fields. For example, one man works within the male-dominated Security category, but two women in the female-dominated Women, Peace and Security category.3 Within the armed forces there is a striking overrepresentation of men in both the general work of the FBA and in operations abroad, based on general conscription/military service in Sweden having only applied to men. This resulted in a skewed gender balance in the business, something that lingered on after mandatory conscription was abolished. A person in charge at the Armed Forces said that this development is headed in the right direction, even though it is slow. An active value-based approach to gender and equality issues is being implemented and there is an understanding of the importance of these issues among several managers, even if this understanding has not permeated the entire organization. The MSB also identified that men are overrepresented in international missions; this relates to the fact that men are overrepresented in the resource base, where the demand is higher for traditionally male-dominated occupations. MSB works in various ways to try to increase the number of female applicants, for example, by clearly highlighting the aspects of the job that women found important according to a survey, by being clear in the advertisements that the authority would like to see female applicants, and by using inclusive language. However, the MSB has experienced that it is difficult to raise the proportion of women admitted to the mission at the nomination process due to the lack of clear ambition by their partners to even out the gender gap. This continues to be a challenge. The Swedish Prison and Probation Service also work actively to achieve an even distribution of men and women in their international missions. During 2015, the SPPS nominated 18 civil servants; 8 were women (44%) appointed to international service in UN operations. In 2014 the percentage was 35%, which means an increase. The SPPS has therefore achieved small but significant progress over time in terms of these numbers. Of the nominees recruited by the UN, 50% were women. A representative from the International Department told us that both the SPPS and the UN have a strong awareness of the importance of recruiting women to these missions. The representative believes that they are succeeding in this, especially given that fewer women than men apply for international service.
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OBJECTIVE 1B: Peace and security-building operations to be implemented with a gender perspective in order to increase their effectiveness. Women’s participation and representation in international operations forms an important part of resolution 1325. However, quantitative representation alone does not ensure that women and men are given the same opportunities. In addition to the inclusion of women, a conscious gender perspective must permeate the operations. Gender perspective is essential for a successful outreach to all persons and to ensure that women as well as men are safeguarded in the operations. In order to ensure this, implementing agencies needs to include the gender perspective as a clear and consistent tactic in the planning, implementation and evaluation of interventions. Operation 1325 therefore recommends that all responsible authorities have special staff responsible for ensuring that gender is integrated, that the integrated gender perspective is given ample space and resources for holistic implementation by all authorities. In this goal-setting, we see that the efficiency argument is prominent. Efficiency is one reason why the gender perspective is needed, but as discussed above, it is important to argue not only from the point of view of efficiency when it comes to gender equality, but also to apply a rights perspective. For the first time since the implementation of the Indicator Report all authorities now report that active competence upgrading on gender and 1325 is ongoing to a great extent in core business, although it cannot be regarded as standard. This is a general improvement, but to ensure that gender equality is not dependent on individual efforts, there is a need for continued work so that this perspective is standard and reflected in the relevant policy documents. There are shortcomings in terms of the presence of gender and 1325 in government policy documents; for example, the international unit of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service demanded more policy documents as these documents are important to ensure that 1325 and gender issues will be secured in the future. The Folke Bernadotte Academy reports that in 2015 they managed to include gender mainstreaming in the internal planning system more clearly than before, but there are still shortcomings in terms of gender equality in policy documents. In 2015, the government commission Gender integration in Government agencies (GI-commission/ JiM-uppdraget) expanded to include 60 agencies. Several authorities have stated, both in the indicator report and interviews that the Commission has been positive for their work with 1325 and gender equality. For example, the FBA noted that in its appropriation the GI-commission they were instructed to prepare an action plan for how the agency should develop gender mainstreaming in order to contribute to Sweden’s gender-equality policy objectives. This FBA plan includes both the work of 1325 and gender equality as a transversal perspective of sustainability in all its operations. The FBA also explicitly clarified that the unity and functional managers of the FBA are responsible for integrating a gender perspective into the business, something that is considered to create better conditions for gender mainstreaming in policy documents ahead. The government commission has given the authorities a strengthened capacity to work with gender issues and integration. For example, when the Armed Forces were in the pilot stage of the GI-commission (they now have extensive experience), they were able to hire two additional resource persons to work with gender mainstreaming, which made a big difference. Operation 1325 considers this to be an important government mission that needs to be taken seriously by all authorities in order to ensure that the gender-equality work done is not lost if committed individuals leave the authority.
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CONFLICT SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS Resolution 1325 includes a conflict-prevention perspective. In line with this, Operation 1325 considers it important to go beyond a gender perspective in order to ensure that a mission or project does not contribute to conflict, either from a gender perspective or between other groups. A conflict-sensitive approach in planning an intervention is essential to ensure that you do not in any way contribute to conflict. In this analysis, the inclusion of men and women, different ethnic groups, etc. is also very important. A clear Do-No-Harm perspective should be at the center of all planning by authorities and business; however, Operation 1325 considers that the aim should be greater than that. The goal should not merely be to avoid contributing to the conflict, but rather to always strive towards conflict prevention. Human security and positive peace can only be created in this way. SIDA received a new instruction in 2015, namely to work with conflict sensitivity, not merely in conflict and post-conflict countries, but also in non-conflict countries. This instruction was seen as an important change in 2015 by the Foreign Ministry. This means that all operations and projects must undergo a conflict-sensitivity analysis in which different parts of the operation are analyzed to see if they impact negatively in any way on the contextual risks of conflict. A gender perspective is included in this analysis. Gender-equality measures are often associated with risks because they are sometimes considered to be sensitive and controversial. In these cases a risk assessment is needed to determine if the organization wanting to implement the project has an understanding of these risks, and how they will handle them. However, in general it is considered a greater risk not to get involved at all than to incur the potential risks that can emerge from active gender work. In addition to a conflict-sensitivity analysis, a particular gender analysis should be carried out where the officer looks at whether gender equality is a primary or secondary purpose of the project. This type of gender and conflict-sensitive analysis is of great importance in the implementation of resolution 1325. The MSB sees great potential for development when it comes to mainstreaming conflict-sensitivity analysis in planning and conducting missions. There is a major lack of such perspective in the military sector, partly due to the military’s mandate to operate primarily in conflict situations. However, if human security and a more peaceful world are to be built there is a need to discuss the definition of concepts such as security and conflict; these concepts need to be expanded in such a way that “soft” issues are also included. Operation 1325 believes that all authorities and other organizations should include this type of analysis in their preparatory work for various interventions, as an important part of conflict prevention.
TRAINING OF SECONDED PERSONNEL In order to incorporate a gender perspective in international missions it is of course essential that seconded personnel have sufficient knowledge of resolution 1325. It is important that Swedish personnel who will serve in international missions receive training in 1325, so that the work is conducted with this awareness. A review of the field-based training is needed before deployment. All the Swedish agencies report that they train seconded and contracted staff in a way that gives the staff greater capacity to work on gender issues and resolution 1325. The extent to which this takes place varies a lot between different authorities. Most have one or a few hours earmarked for these issues. However, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service and the Police for example, highlight that they work with gender, mediation and conflict-management perspectives integrated throughout their training. Gender issues have also received greater focus in general at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, according to an
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officer at the international unit who has observed a greater understanding of the relevance of these issues. For example, it is possible that inmates have been subjected to, or exposed others to sexual violence, a reality that requires knowledge and understanding of these issues in efforts to build a functioning justice system after conflict. However, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service does not conduct specific 1325 training in the field. Training is only carried out before deployment. This is partly due to lack of demand for such field-based training. Requested knowledge concerns how to guarantee that basic rights such as food and hygiene are met and addressed correctly. Only when this is guaranteed, can training on gender, sexual violence and 1325 be carried out. However, when the placed field staff and civilian population is ready for gender training the mission is no longer needed and will withdraw which shows the relatively low priority given to gender issues and 1325 in these contexts. The FBA also emphasizes the importance of having separate 1325 training sessions where you get the specific background and theoretical knowledge about the resolution and its usability, as well as concrete tools to use in the field work. This is important as gender and the gender perspective need to be integrated in any type of work in order to avoid 1325 work being seen as a “women’s issue”. The 1325 agenda calls for the integration of different policies that help to overcome the traditional split between military and human security, and gender perspective is necessary to understand a conflict situation fully.4 The Folke Bernadotte Academy has for the second year in a row completed a specialization course for gender advisers who are already working in or who will be sent out to international peace efforts. The participants had the opportunity to exchange experiences and take note of current research in the area. The Armed Forces developed a manual for gender issues in 2015. The manual will be completed in 2016 and will be used widely in all types of operations in order to clearly integrate a gender perspective. Nonetheless, an Armed Forces gender expert emphasized that it is very important to integrate gender into all training conducted by the authority, not only training before deployment. Such integration would make value-based work easier, which is a necessary step for the Armed Forces to take in their work on resolution 1325. Gender should be mainstreamed in training before deployment, instead of having a short training session where the topic of women is dealt with as a separate issue, isolated from other security and relevant training. It is therefore important that all authorities strive towards an integrated gender perspective in all types of education, and that they have a designated person responsible for this implementation. In addition to the integrated perspective there is a need for specific training sessions on resolution 1325 and the implications of the resolution on the mission.
OBJECTIVE 2: The protection of women and girls in conflict situations to be strengthened and based on analysis in which women participate actively. It is fundamental to strengthen the protection of women and girls in conflict situations. It is also fundamental for the protection of women and girls’ rights that they are included in the analysis and planning of protective interventions. An example of this is the work to include women police officers in international training programs held by the Swedish Police. When no women have been signed up for the course, the course has been cancelled to indicate that this is not acceptable.
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AMOUNT OF SEK* SPENT ON THE PROTECTION OF GIRLS AND WOMEN
YEAR
2012 2013 2014 2015
FBA
582 000 1 584 000 1 380 000 630 982
SPPS
445 000 100 000 100 000 250 000
MSB
0 7 714 500 481 433 4 328 591
* Swedish Krona
The Police
SIDA
440 000 4 839 000 6 200 000 9 449 000
803 128 500 944 424 972 1 216 127 1 434 630 711
In conflicts situations where rape is used as a weapon, women and girls are highly exposed, and generally exposed in a different way than men and boys. Women’s perspective on what the peace process needs to include in order to create sustainable peace is therefore extremely important. Sweden should therefore defend the right to abortion after being subjected to rape in warfare. Abortion needs to be included in the right to adequate healthcare care after torture. It is therefore important that Sweden clearly distances itself from elements of US aid policy. Specifically, the fact that US aid cannot be used to provide information on abortion or to conduct abortion is a major obstacle in terms of victim reparation. A gender perspective can be a life-changing mechanism in humanitarian aid and disaster relief. This perspective can meet with resistance; as the primary purpose of humanitarian aid is to save lives, the application of a gender perspective is not always considered a priority. However, it has been proved that women and men, girls and boys, are affected differently in catastrophes and have different conditions. Thus a gender perspective in humanitarian assistance is of great importance for the aid to be effective.5 MSB is working actively to document how the gender perspective in humanitarian action that is dedicated to saving lives, increases its efficiency. SIDA also works actively with gender in humanitarian efforts and the personnel on both SIDA and MSB say that this work has been facilitated by feminist foreign policy and as the government gives priority to gender issues. However, to let women take part of the aid is not enough; it is also vital that women participate in decision-making and the implementation of humanitarian interventions to a much greater extent than is the case today. There is a general perception that Sweden’s efforts in implementing resolution 1325 occur mainly abroad as part of development policies. This perspective needs to be broadened. The Swedish Armed Forces point out that their core task is national defense, even if Sweden is not in a conflict. Since 1325 is about institutions dealing with conflict, the Armed Forces are working actively to include the resolution in their work on national defense. Due to developments in the local region, they consider that this has become increasingly relevant in recent years. Based on this, Operation 1325 sees a need for clarification of the Swedish government’s understanding of 1325, and an outline of why resolution 1325 is relevant to Sweden’s national security should be provided. A connection can also be made between international missions and the county’s national security when calling for enhanced work on 1325. The government should make use of the knowledge held by seconded personnel in conflict areas, as this would be a useful source of information for the improvement of national security. Moreover, the assumption that Sweden is not in a territorial conflict is something that can be contested. The relation with Sápmi is an aspect that needs to be raised and discussed when talking about 1325. Operation 1325 believes that this issue should be recognized as a territorial conflict present in Sweden and that resolution 1325 is therefore applicable even in domestic politics.
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OBJECTIVE 3: Women in conflict areas to participate fully and on equal terms with men at all levels in mechanisms and institutions for conflict prevention, crisis management, peace-building, humanitarian operations and other initiatives during a post-conflict phase. Women’s active participation is the cornerstone of resolution 1325 but women are still largely lacking when it comes to decision-making. A comparison between the aid sector and the policy sector making decisions on where aid work should be carried out, shows that women are well represented in the aid sector but men dominate the policy sector. For Objective 3 to be fulfilled, women need to be represented in the policy sector. In particular, the traditional security sector needs more resolution 1325 experts. AMOUNT OF SEK* PAID TO PROGRAMS & PROJECTS WHERE WOMEN FROM CONFLICT/POST-CONFLICT AREAS CONTRIBUTE TO A LASTING PEACE
* Swedish Krona
YEAR
FBA
SPPS
MSB
The Police
SIDA
2012 2013 2014 2015
7 900 000 7 991 000 8 200 000 8 665 000
445 000 100 000 100 000 100 000
ca 62 000 000 ca 69 500 000 ca 69 200 000 ca 48 700 000
0 N.A. 4 400 000 5 300 000 7 814 000
1 150 189 371 1 365 522 442 1 364 444 800
Human security also forms part of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy. A focus on human security requires that conflicts are not only solved but also that new conflicts are prevented. Being a broad concept, conflict prevention can include everything from prevention of recruitment to extremist organizations as well as women’s financial empowerment. Mediation and diplomacy are examples of more straight forward conflict prevention. In 2015, The Folke Bernadotte Academy created a mediation network, made up exclusively of women. The FBA also finances various organizations working with mediation, such as Operation 1325’s project Mediation Lab. According to a staff member at the FBA, when it comes to opportunities to expand non-military and conflict prevention assignments the Swedish authorities are “just as anti-militarist as the government, neither more nor less”. In order to enhance the work on human security, Operation 1325 believes that a stronger political emphasis is needed on human security.
OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS The work of the Swedish government and its authorities as presented above is not the only factor affecting women’s ability to be agents in different ways around the world. A holistic approach is needed to ensure the implementation of resolution 1325. Power and influence are multifaceted and multi-layered. Media, trade and education are important aspects of our daily lives and of Sweden’s policies and affect the ability to implement resolution 1325. Therefore, we want to highlight these three areas and point out why it is important to work actively with a gender perspective and 1325 in these areas.
MEDIA
Media is often called the fourth state power. It strongly influences our perception of how
society looks, works, and which issues are heard and prioritized in the public debate. The news media bear a great responsibility in the democratic development of society, and when women are not given
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Men
Women 67
33
Actors within media in Sweden equal footing with men, this indicates a democracy problem. Fifteen years ago, 69 percent of the people featured in Swedish media
Women 33%
were men. In 2015, the proportion remained the same. The lack of female experts featuring in media experts risks to consolidate
Men 67%
prejudices about men’s and women’s skills, which holds back the progress of gender equality. In 2015, 81 percent of experts featuring in media were men, and 80 percent of spokespersons featured were male.6 If women do not have a voice in the media there is a risk that prejudices about women will be enshrined, such as that they are victims rather than actors. This counteracts 1325’s purpose.
ACTORS WITHIN MEDIA IN SWEDEN
Media is one of the areas where gender and resolution 1325 need to be included in a more distinct man-
Graf 4. Titel:Actors within media Ska vara i del 3.1 i rapporten
ner. Operation 1325 has been working to strengthen women’s participation and voice in the media in the Middle East, something that we see as fundamental to the empowerment of women in society.7 However, there is a lot to be done in Sweden as well. When it comes to finding experts who can comment on various issues, the organization Rättviseförmedlingen is doing important work, as they identify suitable candidates in order to broaden representation. We urge all parties concerned to work actively to ensure the participation of women as agents and featured experts in the media.
TRADE
It is not only through aid and peacekeeping operations that Sweden affects people’s lives
around the world. How Sweden chooses to conduct its trade is an area where resolution 1325 needs to be integrated in a more clear way. To work with conflict prevention at the same time as exporting arms to non-democracies is counterproductive. To trade with companies and countries that exploit their laborers, and where basic human rights are not respected cannot be considered to safeguard human security. There is a clear link between international arms trafficking and sexual and gender-based violence, but it is not just the arms trade that affects gender equality. Men and women generally work in different sectors, and these sectors are affected by various trade agreements that affect men and women’s situations in different ways. If a gender perspective is not present in the shaping of trade policy there is a risk that the different opportunities for men and women will be amplified and stagnate.8 Sweden needs to incorporate a clearer human security perspective, a Do-No-Harm perspective and a gender perspective, in its trade policy, including at EU level, where trade and capital flows are a strong force in our globalized world.
TRAINING In order for resolution 1325 to become standard, as well as women’s participation in peace processes, decision-making and the media, there must be knowledge and understanding of why these issues are important. This knowledge needs to gain traction, and this calls for greater gender equality and gender mainstreaming in all types of education, both in schools and higher education as well as among expatriate staff posted abroad. This forms part of the work to prevent conflict and gender-based violence. An important part of this work is to design the training on gender and resolution 1325 in a way that can be received by all, without the message getting lost. It is also important to concretize the way in which gender issues are relevant to all different people, including men and boys. People working to highlight gender issues in traditionally male contexts, such as defense and security, experience difficulty in achieving this goal effectively. Many feel that the questions at issue do not relate to them, and they have difficulty identifying with these problems, therefore they are perceived as irrelevant. The inclusion of men and boys in the struggle for gender equality is crucial work for the success of the issue.
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RECOMMENDATIONS • The authorities’ reporting on resolution 1325 should be integrated into regular reporting so that it is not considered a separate point and a “women’s issue”. The matter should constitute an important perspective through all activities. • The Foreign Ministry and foreign authorities should report on their implementation of 1325 in a way similar to the reporting done by authorities. • An integrated perspective on gender needs to be included in all training conducted by authorities as well as in schools and universities. • Sweden should work to improve resolution 1325 training for staff deployed in the field. If it is a UN operation, the UN could carry out the education. • All relevant authorities should have special staff responsible for mainstreaming the gender perspective and the work on resolution 1325 in all their activities. In particular, the traditional security sector needs more resolution 1325 experts. • Clarification is needed on the Swedish government’s understanding of resolution 1325, and an outline should be provided explaining why the resolution is relevant for Sweden’s national security. In relation to this, the government should make use of the knowledge held by seconded personnel in conflict areas, as this would be a useful source of information for the improvement of national security. • The relevance of resolution 1325 in the relationship between Sweden and Sápmi should be investigated. • Whether protection of women refuges is to be included in Sweden’s implementation of the resolution needs to be investigated. • Sweden should make it clear that the right to abortion after conflict-related rape is included in adequate healthcare after torture. Policies restricting information on and access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights present a major obstacle to legal redress and gender justice and must be opposed. Sweden also needs to question the US policy on aid which does not provide for information on and carrying out of abortions, as this policy constitutes a major obstacle to the vindication of subjected women. • A conflict-sensitivity analysis with a gender perspective must be undertaken when planning every international operation. Strengthened and consistent focus is needed on conflict prevention, such as mediation, diplomacy and participation by all authorities and actors. Political emphasis on human security should be strengthened.The do-no-harm, gender-perspective and inclusive human security perspective must be clearly incorporated into trade policy, including at EU-level. Trade and capital flow is a strong power in the globalized world and responsibility for conflict prevention must be taken in this area. • The issue of women’s participation on all levels of decision-making must be strengthened and raised at every opportunity. Sweden should build alliances with other countries and use its leverage to contribute to substantial and tangible improvement in women’s political and economic participation and empowerment. • The intersections between women, peace and the security agenda, and traditional security policy; between development aid and international politics; and between trade, media and politics must be made visible. Sweden should continue to uphold a holistic perspective on sustainable peace and security.
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WOMEN COUNT 2.0
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1325 Media Toolkit: Creating space for Women’s rights – Practical advice for interaction between media and civil society, Operation 1325, 2015. CONCORD, ”Hur feministisk är Sveriges utrikespolitik?”, Stockholm, 2016 Edström & Jacobsson “Räkna med kvinnor: Sverige: Global Media Monitoring Project 2015: Nationell rapport”, 2015 FBA: ”Svenska myndigheters genomförande av FN:s säkerhetsrådsresolution 1325 – Perioden 1/1-31/12 2015”, 2016-04-15 WILPF Sweden: ”Konsultationsrapport om Sveriges implementering av FN:s säkerhetsresolution 1325 och agendan för kvinnor, fred och säkerhet”, 2014. Sida Gender Toolbox: “Gender Equality in Humanitarian Assistance” Sida Gender Toolbox: “Gender Equality in Humanitarian Assistance”
FOOTNOTES 1 Previous Women Count reports have been conducted under the coordination of the Global Network of Women Peace-builders (GNWP). The 2015 report is slightly different, partly because GNWP no longer coordinates the project. Therefore, we have chosen to work with the objectives defined in the Swedish action plan for the implementation of Resolution 1325 this year. The Swedish authorities also use these goals in the reporting on their work related to women, peace and security instead of the indicators used in the Women Count globally. 2 FBA: ”Svenska myndigheters genomförande av FN:s säkerhetsrådsresolution 1325 – Perioden 1/1-31/12 2015”, 2016-04-15 3 FBA, ”Svenska myndigheters genomförande av FN:s säkerhetsrådsresolution 1325”, 2016-04-15, s. 14 4 WILPF Sweden: ”Konsultationsrapport om Sveriges implementering av FN:s säkerhetsresolution 1325 och agendan för kvinnor, fred och säkerhet”, 2014. 5 Sida Gender Toolbox: “Gender Equality in Humanitarian Assistance”, January 2015 6 Edström & Jacobsson ”Räkna med kvinnor: Sverige: Global Media Monitoring Project 2015: Nationell rapport”, 2015 7 ”1325 Media Toolkit: Creating space for Women’s rights – Practical advice for interaction between media and civil society”, Operation 1325, 2015. 8 CONCORD, ”Hur feministisk är Sveriges utrikespolitik?”, Stockholm, 2016
WOMEN COUNT 2.0 PUBLISHED BY OPERATION 1325 STOCKHOLM 2016 WWW.OPERATION1325.SE